I’ve wanted to give up coffee for, well, over 4 years now (since I got pregnant the first time) and it hasn’t happened for longer than a few months at a time. For my first pregnancy I made it through the first trimester without coffee, then in my second pregnancy it gave me the jitters so I stopped then too, only to start back up after my son was born. But I’ve always felt that I wasn’t awake in the morning until I’d had a cup or three, even after being off caffeine for a few weeks.
When I posted about my ‘nap substitute’ iced coffee Ann Marie had commented about DLPA
I looked into amino acids as supplements, because I hadn’t heard of those before. I was concerned that they might just be doing the same thing as caffeine, but they seem to correct an imbalance within the body rather than force adrenaline out like caffeine does. DLPA also has very few side effects for the dose I was going to try. As I’ve talked about, I’m not a supplement person, I think it’s too common in our society for us to ignore the roots of problem, and just try popping a bunch of pills to cure our problems. But for some things, herbs, supplements, probiotics, etc have their place.
I decided that this was worth a try. Some more information:
D, L-Phenylalanine (DLPA) is used by the brain to produce norepinephrine (our brains’ version of adrenaline), a neurotransmitter depleted by stress, caffeine, nicotine, pollution, and some pharmacological and recreational drugs. Source
When you’re low on dopamine, you feel dull, unmotivated and tired. Nothing seems very interesting. When left to yourself you might sit in the same spot for hours. This can feel terrible!
Fortunately, there’s a simple way to boost dopamine levels. The amino acids L-tyrosine and DL-phenylalanine (DLPA) are your body’s natural dopamine precursors. When you take L-tyrosine and DLPA as supplements, your body converts them into dopamine, and your alertness and energy level get a boost. Source
Caffeine gives us a temporary lift by sending norepinephrine into the blood stream. Over time, healthy levels of norepinephrine are depleted by caffeine and other factors mentioned above … if not replaced. Phenylalanine does a great job replacing this major neurotransmitter. Source
DLPA looks like it also helps with chronic pain and depression, so it’s not just for withdrawing from caffeine.
I tried it first, and was able to quit coffee immediately without any withdrawal symptoms. I felt like I got better sleep, and woke up ready to go in the morning with more energy than usual, and a longer attention span than usual. This was about 3 weeks ago now, and I’ve had half a mug of coffee a couple times, but haven’t become addicted at all. The DLPA itself doesn’t seem to be habit forming, I skip most days now and only take it if I start to feel like I ‘need’ something to wake me up.
This past weekend we tried DLPA to quit coffee, and were amazed that we avoided the caffeine withdrawl headache and even had a steady supply of energy all day long. And it’s not the nervous caffeine-induced kind of energy, it’s the kind of energy you have after you had a great night’s sleep and you’re excited to do whatever needs to be done that day.
This is what we’re taking- it’s what they had available at our health food store (it’s way cheaper on Amazon) Solar Ray DLPA
And Ann Marie’s post about her experiences using DLPA to stop drinking coffee too.
I’m still amazed at how well this works, it’s almost like it’s too good to be true. I can’t seem to find any side effects recorded unless someone is taking about 20 x the dose I have been (I’ve been taking one 500 mg pill a day, not even every day). I am still breastfeeding my toddler, and I’m comfortable taking this with him, though I most likely would avoid during pregnancy and while nursing a newborn, but I’d have to research more before deciding (as a default most supplements will say to avoid while pregnant or breastfeeding, though that’s not always necessary).
Are you addicted to caffeine and want to stop?
Thank you for this post! This information is very interesting. I plan to try this. I'm not a coffee drinker but I drank diet soda for years to get my caffeine. I stopped drinking the soda a month or so ago and have felt tired and had headaches since. Maybe this will help!
Very inspiring! It is worth a look into. I sometimes forget to make coffee on my days off and boy do I feel it at 3 o'clock.. the headache is like clock work. I drink 2 cups in the morning right now, which takes me hours to drink. I'm still drinking my second cup at lunch, which is limiting my water consumption. I hate the dependence. Thanks for sharing your experience.
The dependence is what I disliked the most as well! if you go to cheeseslave.com she has another article up right now on more amino acids and why/how they work. It's fascinating!
Yes to both questions.
Did you get the amino acid from a store or mail order it?
Julie
I got it from our health food store- but only one out of three in our town had it. I'm going to order from Amazon (there's a link up in the article) next time- the price locally is double what they carry it for.
I think I might try this as well! I only have one cup of coffee in the morning, but I definitely need it. I get massive headaches w/o it. Now to find something else to drink in the morning: I hate tea. Thanks for the post!
I'm a once in a while coffee drinker but this interests me because of the comments made about getting better sleep and having more energy. I have insomnia more nights than not and then I end up being tired all the time. Thanks for the info… off to research more
What a coincidence, I have been researching amino acids and how they can replace bipolar mood stabilizers. I dislike all medications, and their side effects and would love a more natural approach to treatment. Maybe I'll be able to shake my coffee addiction at the same time. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks, Cara. Quitting coffee is high on my list and I am completely addicted. Have quit often over the years but never successfully “for good.” Will give the DLPA a try asap.
You mentioned L-tyrosine and I’ve just read about that somewhere else – maybe cheeseslave, don’t know. Have you tried that at all? Just curious. Will have to see where I read this…
Thanks again! I’m excited!!!
Oh Lord, I wish I had this information when my husband insisted that we go to decaf mid February. We were already cutting our one cup of espresso machine coffee with half caff half decaf. I actually had a migraine the third day, that got progressively worse during the day and I ended up in bed that afternoon, feeling nauseas and falling asleep for a while. My sleep isnt great the best of times and it got worse. I read that insomnia can be a symptom of caffeine withdrawal. I also had neck and upper back soreness for weeks. I must be a glutton for punishment. This is one of a few times that I have quit caffeine in the past few years, but its definitely the last! I think I might try the DLPA, I wonder if its good for weak adrenals? Im betting it is.
Can’t you get DLPA and l-trilocyne from animal products such as grass fed meat and raw milk? As I understood it, these foods provide you your essential amino acids which in turn allow your body to produce non-essential acids. Not saying cutting out caffeine is a bad thing (I should probably as well) but you should be able to get all you need from a traditonal diet, no? I mean, that’s the whole point in eating traditional. That you don’t need fancy supplements if you’re eating healthy and feeding your body what it needs. Just curious, because I’ve not heard of this before
Right, but caffeine I think really depletes that particular aminio acid, which somehow makes you crave more coffee and deplete even more. If someone had always had good nutrition and never drank coffee, they’d likely be fine
Okay, yes, that makes sense. Very interesting. I love my coffee, but have read enough about it to seriously consider cutting it out – I do use raw cream and no sugar, so that’s a bit of a plus, minor, I know – lol. If you simply cut out coffee, without supplementation, then I assume your levels will even out once you’re coffee free, is that right? We drink raw milk and eat only grass fed beef at our house. Thanks so much for the info!
Hi Rachel, I needed a little jump start from the amino acids (DLPA) to get my levels to even out. I’d tried quitting before and never felt really ‘awake’ without it, even after a few months. But that was just me, I was raised on formula than SAD/low fat, so I most likely was very deficient!